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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · foot · root · wave · fall · file · ground · dip

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. fall — to drop
  3. root — of a word
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. dip — to sink
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — the earth
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. root — of a plant
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a document
  19. ground — crushed
  20. foot — a measure
  21. fall — to drop
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. fall — the season
  24. file — a tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com